Bensalem, PA police stop ends with pursuit, fatal standoff

🚨 The driver of a car stopped on Route 1 refused to cooperate with officers

🚨 He took off on a pursuit onto Route 95 and onto Route 13

🚨 Police boxed the car in at a gas station

BENSALEM — A traffic stop Friday afternoon ended several hours later after a chase and fatal standoff.

A car was stopped near the intersection of Route 1 and Old Lincoln Highway around 3:50 p.m. for a tinted window violation but the driver did not cooperate with officers and told them he was not going back to jail, according to a statement from Bensalem police.

After refusing to get out of the car for 45 minutes the driver took off with officers following the car to the Route 1, Woodhaven Road and north on Route 95 before exiting at Route 13, Bensalem Police Director of Public Safety William McVey told reporters.

The sedan was boxed in at the Liberty gas station on Bristol Pike near Biddle Lane but the driver and passenger still refused to get out. The driver told officers he was armed and repeated that he was not returning to jail, according to McVey.

Gun pointed at officers

The driver pointed a handgun at officers who fired a barrage of bullets at the car striking the driver. Officers administered life saving treatment on the driver who was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital where he was pronounced dead. The passenger was not hurt and is in custody.

"After approximately two hours of negotiations trying to get these individuals to surrender, gas was deployed two times, at which point the driver of the vehicle produced a handgun and was fired upon by our SWAT team," McVey said.

McVey did not disclose the identities of the driver and passenger except that the driver is 30-year-old. Charges against passenger was charged with.

Shelter-in-place advisories were briefly issued by the township during the pursuit.

The officers involved were placed on administrative leave per policy. They will remain on leave until the Bucks County District Attorney's Office completes its investigation.

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